Pubdate: Wed, 07 Dec 2005
Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact: http://209.115.237.105/kelowna/publish/include/letterToEditor.php
Website: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531
Author: Ron Seymour

BUSINESS OWNERS WANT MORATORIUM ON HOUSING PROJECT FOR DRUG ADDICTS

Downtown merchants and landlords are calling for a moratorium on plans
to develop an apartment block for drug addicts and the homeless.

About 75 people attended a closed-door meeting Tuesday to develop
their formal response to the proposed 30-suite building on St. Paul
Street.

The project has drawn strong opposition from nearby businesses, who
fear it could make the neighbourhood unsafe and scare away shoppers.

"We'll be asking for a moratorium on these plans, some time to do our
own research into what this project might mean," spokesman Mel Kotler
said after the meeting.

"We shouldn't just have to accept the assurances as they've been given
from the city and Interior Health that there won't be much of an
impact," he said.

As at a public meeting last week, the prevailing mood among those
attending Tuesday's gathering was frustration and anger they hadn't
been consulted in advance of the project's announcement last week,
Kotler said.

"We aren't a bunch of NIMBY people," said Kotler, who has plans to
develop a 12-storey residential tower at the nearby corner of Doyle
Avenue and Ellis Street.

"We recognize that a facility like this is needed, that the issues of
homelessness and addiction are not going to go away."

But by green-lighting the apartment for addicts trying to get off
drugs on such a prime property, Kotler said council is sending
"conflicting messages" about the future of downtown.

Plans call for the $5-million building to open in the fall of
2007.

Another open house on the project will be hosted by the city from 4 to
8 p.m. Thursday at the Rotary Centre for the Arts.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin